


Grounded

by faith_girl222 (faithgirl)



Category: Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
Genre: I Saw Three Ships, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2003-12-31
Updated: 2003-12-31
Packaged: 2017-10-13 16:36:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/139384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/faithgirl/pseuds/faith_girl222
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(you forget your place, turner. | it's right here. between you and jack.) <em>so sure we were on something your feet are finally on the ground he said so sure.</em></p>
            </blockquote>





	Grounded

**Author's Note:**

> summary and title from Tori Amos' "Space Dog". subtitle is a quote from the film. written for the 2003 I Saw Three Ships secret santa.

Jack wandered up a hill, staring at the soft green grass beneath his boots. Watched the flowers and discarded goblets and fruit rinds filter into his line of sight. Randomly, or so it was seem to someone who wasn't him, he dropped to the ground, stretched his legs out before and tipped his hat down over his face.

"Now we can see why you went on ahead, lazy bones."

Jack peered upward, squinted past the brim of his hat and through the feather at Anamaria standing above, hands firmly on her hips a smile tugging at her mouth. Gibbs came wandering up behind her, smirking.

"Wouldn't think ye'd need any more sleep, Captain, if you don't mind me stating the facts. Spent a good long time in down yer bunk last night."

"Was thinking, not sleeping. Now, shhh, need my beauty sleep."

Anamaria sat beside him, and snatched an apple away from Gibbs' bag of foodstuffs. The rest of the crew straggled up the hill after them.

\+ + +

That parry-clang of a casual duel comforted James, soothed raw nerves. He hadn't been sleeping well. The image of the Black Pearl sailing away, disappearing again and again beyond the horizon before the Dauntless could reach it, was burned into his mind. It flitted through his dreams, showing senselessly up during heart-felt proclamations, the recipient of which he could never remember. He suspected it was Elizabeth, but the faint niggling thought that it wasn't confused him beyond measure.

So he had taken to coming here, to this little tucked away corner of flat ground and cool shade in which to practice his fencing. His opponent had a clean form, and a quick enough mind for him to bend the rules without worry.

A quick flash of fighting with Sparrow invaded James' mind. He stumbled; nearly fell onto Heath's sword point. Somehow he found himself apologizing for his clumsiness, making a promise to meet him again tomorrow.

\+ + +

Will had a perfect view of the ocean from his front steps. The shade-giving trees along the front walk exposed a flawless patch of sandy beach and bluegreen water. He liked to take Elizabeth there, hold her as the sun beat down through the trees. Her stomach was swelling again, and he couldn't help but marvel at it. Couldn't help but marvel at Albert. He found himself like that often; taking himself aside to stare at the wonderful things he'd somehow been blessed with.

Albert was almost two, and was beginning to make sounds they were both sure would soon be words. The Governor was a mess of joy every time he saw them, and had put any reservations about who his daughter had picked for his son-in-law away in the face of his beautiful grandchildren.

Albert was quiet and sleepy as Will carried him back up from the shore. He cradled him carefully, just as Elizabeth had told him to. Behind him, through the branches of the trees, a dark shadowed slipped. He paused, shook off the feeling, and went inside.

\+ + +

James stood in the tent fiddling with his shirt. His head was bowed, his forehead furrowed. The speech wasn't flowing the way it had been before he left his house. His cursed quietly, paced the floor.

Gillette entered, bringing the rumble of the crowd in with him. "Are you ready, Sir?"

He breathed deeply, steeled himself. "I think I might just be," he said. He smiled, and walked past Gillette out of the tent.

\+ + +

Elizabeth stood with her father, watching James. She wanted to smile at him, but couldn't find it in herself. He still looked sad, drawn taught around the edges. She hoped that the ever-increasing problems with the pirates were the cause of this, and not her disloyalty.

Will slipped in beside her, looking over his shoulder.

\+ + +

"Today, more than ever before, pirates are both a danger and a menace. Not three years ago they ransacked this very city, and despite our best and most diligent efforts, we have been unable to curb their swath of destruction. So, it is time to step up our defenses. We will show them no mercy! And never again will the people of Port Royale find themselves in the line of fire."

A cheer spread through the crowd. James stared sightlessly at them, considering his words, wondering why he felt like a hypocrite saying them.

The sun shifted, sliding between the leaves, painting everything golden. Then a shadow, stretched long against the midday light, fell across James. His head snapped up in time to watch a small ragged monkey in a bloodied coat and hat throw itself toward him.

It sailed through the air, beady eyes wide with mindless rage. James' arms came over his face just as Gillette's arms wrapped around his calves. They went tumbling to the ground, and the monkey clattered after them.

His head thumped against the hard ground and he stared dazedly at the canopy of trees above him. The monkey lurched over him, then disappeared again when Gillette's hands wrapped around it. Shrieks echoed in his head, coming up through the ground from the crowd a few feet away. Gold slipped from the monkey's slack fingers, fell to James' chest. It rippled at him, and he frowned as the world tipped and spun crazily about him.

A pirate loomed over him, yellowed and decaying teeth glinting in the bright light.

\+ + +

Will blinked himself to wakefulness. His head throbbed, and there was something sticky matted into the hair at his temple. It took him several minutes to piece together the last things he remembered.

Monkey ... pirates ... screaming .. the Commodore collapsing behind a table ... Elizabeth grasping so tightly to his hand he could feel the bite of her nails ...

He lifted his hand, stared at the four nail marks across the palm. The floor lurched suddenly. Will's eyes snapped up, took in the dank cell. Across the way was the Commodore, locked in a similar cell. Elizabeth was nowhere to be seen. Panic rose up in Will, threatened to choke him as he wrenched himself up from the ground.

Two sets of feet clanged down the stairs, one pair more reluctantly than the other. Jack was thrown into the cell next to him, eyes stunned, staring past Will. The pirate smirked at them, then swished back up the stairs, leaving Will to gape open-mouthed at his predicament.

The bars rattled as drums sounded above them. Will grabbed at them, checking Jack over for serious damage (Jack looked all right if a little drunk), scanned the floor for anything useful within reach (A broom was the only thing within reach).

"Jack!" His head jerked slightly, trying to spot the source of the voice.

"What you doin' 'ere Will? 's my tropical island, have to ask if you want to visit. Isn't 'Lizabeth teaching you proper etiquette?" he slurred.

"Jack, you need to get. up." He shook the bars again; slumped against them.

\+ + +

Gregory stood at the wheel, twirling it as they moved away into the sunset. The wind swept over them, threw his hair back from his face. He smiled darkly, mumbled a few bars of song.

The ship streaked away across the horizon, Jack the monkey perched on his wide shoulder.

\+ + +

Jack leaned against the bars, rubbing his eyes. Norrington glared at him from his own cell. Jack smirked back. Things were still foggy, but he now knew quite firmly where he was, and was no longer convinced Elizabeth had stolen his hat, as it was quite clearly on his head.

His eyes shifted to the strumpet in question's husband, where he was trying, fruitlessly, to pick the lock. "You need something pointer, easier to manipulate. Try a hair clip."

"From where?"

"Don't 'sppose you have any clips with you Commodore, to keep that lovely wig in place?"

"Not ones that could be of any use, I'm afraid."

"Stupid lock," Jack muttered, removing his hat. He pressed his face as close to the bars as he could.

The ship abruptly pulled starboard, and Jack staggered across his cell.

"Blast," Norrington said. The water on the floor was getting deeper.

\+ + +

Gregory raced up and down the deck shouting orders. The bow had fetched up against rocks along the edge of the small island. Great rips had opened up along the bottom and the lower compartments were flooding. The crew was rushing about, heaving buckets of water over the rail.

\+ + +

Jack pulled repeatedly at the door, then switched to pushing. Will watched him momentarily, then picked up the broom, lining it up carefully, applying pressure, testing for weak spots. James watched with fascination as Will popped the door free.

"'S too bad I'm so drunk. Might have thought of that."

Will went at Norrington's door next. It took more work, the framework having sustained enough water damage over the years to be horribly rusted. James watched him work, and muttered encouraging things when the broom nearly split in two.

Finally, they stood before Jack's door. The water was up to their knees. He smiled entreatingly at them, gold-capped teeth sparkling in the flickering candlelight. Together, they forced the door open. Jack came splashing out.

"Well, let's get out of this, ah, sinking mess."

"Yes," Will concurred.

"I dunno," Jack started, "might be fun if it stopped just here, we could go swimming an- Hey!" James and Will had grabbed him around the arms and were dragging him bodily toward the stairs.

They'd only breached the middle when all the candles guttered.

"Oh fuck." Jack landed the stairs with a splash. "Oi! I can't see neither, and now I have no bearings."

"Mr. Sparrow, as people who do have their bearings, we are attempting to locate the door." James' hand caught on the latch just as Will's did. His blacksmith's fingers skimmed over James' equally rough hand. A tingle and a spark traveled down one man's arm and up the other's. Their eyes tried to find each other in the darkness, and caught as the door creaked open.

The moment dispelled as Jack ambled up between them, breathing deeply. "Mmh, nothing like fresh air after being stuck in a brig. Bet there are many pirates who were glad to be taken to the gallows just for the fresh air."

Jack wandered pasted James and Will, up the deck to gawk at the horrible damage all along the side of the ship, leaving them trying to find any to look than each other.

"You know," Jack called, staring at them intently, "if we don't want to die horrible, premature deaths and float down to Davey Jones' Locker, I suggest we leave, what with the apparent lack of captors."

James snapped out of it. He scrutinized his surrounding, but found Sparrow to be correct. Not a pirate within eyesight, present company excluded. The ship was sinking steadily, the ocean climbing further up its sides every moment.

"Lucky the ship was damaged by the rocks from an island, and so we can just swim right over there, get the sea animals accustomed to our presence and rope ourselves some sea turtles with your back hair, eh Jack?"

\+ + +

The swim to shore was not what one could call pleasant by any stretch of the imagination, imagination not being something Jack lacked or couldn't stretch and manipulate to his heart's content. The sun was set and the water's heat had gone with it.

They stood, shivering in soaked clothes, watching the tall ship sink under the waves below the low and heavy moon.

Jack stalked away, orienting himself with their new locale.

James and Will were still shivering on the beach when Jack's gleeful 'huzzah!' echoed down the bank. He came loping toward them, his features lit bright with some fabulous secret. With as much melodramatic composure as he could muster he leaned forward in a half bow, cupped his hands toward them whispered. "There's a shack and rum, and, obviously, shade, not that it does us much good at the moment."

He pranced up the slow incline and they followed, with much less reluctance than either would have admitted to.

\+ + +

"I remember snow and big full green trees with candles."

"And Christmas pudding. And frosty windows."

"And tobogganing."

"Having to wear clothes to keep warm."

James and Will gave that a moment of silent respect before nodding.

"I know why I came here, and I'm quite certain of Turner's reason, but why on earth did you come to Caribbean, Sparrow? Was it really all for the Pearl?"

"Always. See, like I told Elizabeth, a ship is far more than what it seems to the casual observer. It's home, freedom, something to give up everything that makes sense for."

"And you certainly have that covered, Jack."

"Seems I do ... Mmm hhmm mmhh ... yo ho, yo ho, drink up me hearties ... and really bad eggs ... lalala ... "

James giggled, then clapped his hands over his mouth. "What in the Hell was that, Sparrow?"

"'S my mourning song for having left the Pearl in Anamaria's possession and then getting myself kidnapped. Brilliant, I am. Bloody brilliant."

"Indeed."

"I was wondering why you're other half wasn't here."

Jack looked at him through half-mast eyes. "Could ask the same of you."

James sighed.

"Home, hopefully. I-I'm not clear on what happened."

"'Prolly just pirates being stu-pid. Lots of that going 'round recently. Step up the no-mercy angle all you want James, but the pirates just aren't what they used to be. Bunch of wankers, the lot of them."

"Nice to have an insider's opinion." He rolled over, came up into Jack's personal space so he could see the pirate's eyes. "Perhaps we should cease becoming violently drunk and save some to build a bonfire with in the morning. I mean, I am Commodore - the whole Royal Navy will be searching for me."

"Good idea, but you had it so I get to finish your drink." He snatched it nimbly out of his hands. James stared at the empty space where the bottle had been for a moment, unsure of what had just transpired. Then he tackled Jack. Jack ended up on top, staring into James' face, eyes wide. And then James was leaning up, pressing his lips firmly to Jack's. Fingers tightened on his shoulder.

Jack pulled slowly away, giving James a measuring look, considering his next move. He rolled them over, brought them closer to the fire. They spun away from each other, looked at Will.

He dropped to his knees next to them, watching them, not blinking. He placed a kiss on each of their mouths - and then it was like everything came apart and they were a jumble of arms and legs and tongues and no one knew where they ended they others began.

\+ + +

James blinked up into the dawn light. His hat and wig were missing, his hair askew about his head, beneath which a warm chest rose and fell, and behind him another warm body clutched at him. He slowly extricated himself. His clothes were dry now, but full of sand. He gathered them up, slipped them on. James' fingers were buttoning his shirt when he felt Will's presence behind him.

He turned, gave William a little smile, brushed his lips softly against his chin, and handed the boy his own clothes. Dropping to a crouch he poked Jack. He mumbled, arched into the touch, but made no other response. James' sighed. "I know you're awake, Spa- Jack."

His lips pulled up in a sleepy approximation of a smile. His hands snaked up into the fine dark curls around James' head. "We all going home?" Jack whispered against his lips.

"Yes," his eyes went to Will, who was staring at the horizon. "We are."


End file.
